TICK & AG500,

John Anderson has another book, called Aerodynamics for Engineers. I have not seen Fundamentals of Aerodynamics, so I can't compare them, but I found Aero. for Engineers to be very readable for a Mech. Engineer.

This is a great discussion. As I think about it, it seems that a big chunk of the problem boils down to getting the lift needed for the high-G turn with minimum drag. My gut tells me that the planes that seem to 'mush' through the turns are the ones that suffer from a big increase in profile drag in the turns, because they need too big an AoA to get enough Gs. It seems that the big payoff is in designing to a target turn radius, as has been mentioned, and focusing on getting enough lift for that radius at minimum AoA. I'm guessing that's the benefit to the 'long wing' pylon racers that were so successful. There might be some benefit in modifying fuselage shape to minimize fuselage drag at moderate AoA, but it seems like a tough one.

I'd love to see what you come up with.

banktoturn